US' obstacles in defence cooperation with Turkey affect NATO's security, says Erdogan

Addressing a meeting of the Turkish-US Business Council in New York, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his concern regarding the obstacles in defence cooperation between the United States and Turkey stating that it affects the security of NATO as well.  

Speaking on NATO’s security landscape, Erdogan stated that "Artificial obstacles to our defence cooperation with the US, which are contrary to the allied law, also negatively affect NATO security landscape," as per Sputnik.

The President of Turkey cited the development of a biased attitude as a result of pressure from certain lobbies on decision-makers as the reason behind the sore US-Turkey relations.  

The US-Turkey Business Council is a core program representing more than 40 of the largest US companies from various industries with investments in Turkey. The Council acts as the principal interlocutor for US businesses operating in Turkey, with offices both in Washington and Istanbul.  

Turkey excluded from US’ program for the supply of F-35 fighter  

The United States had earlier sent an official notice to Turkey informing the nation about its decision to cancel the joint memorandum on the supply of advanced F-35 fighter jets after Ankara had purchased the S-400 air defence systems from Russia. Following the development, Erdogan had stated that Washington had invited Turkey to buy other fighters such as the F-16, but of the 4th generation.  

Meanwhile, the US had kept the deal on with seven remaining partners in the F-35 project- the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, and Canada.  

NATO cannot be strong without Turkey: Erdogan  

Erdogan had earlier told reporters during a press briefing that "without Turkey, NATO is weak". The President of Turkey was speaking in the context of the removal of a tweet about Turkish Victory Day (30 August) following a Greek objection.  

The NATO’s Land Command (LANDCOM) had tweeted congratulating Turkey on the day of its victory over Greece in the Battle of Dumlupinar following which the tweet was deleted after Greece raised objections.   

“It is impossible to imagine NATO without Turkey. As for Greece, it has no value inside NATO. If there is no Turkey, NATO is not strong," Erdogan had stated. In the meantime, Erdogan said that Turkey is seeking to increase the volume of gas purchased from the United States. 

"We would like to increase the volume of gas we buy from the US on more favorable terms in the coming period. We are ready to cooperate on the delivery of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the countries of the region," Erdogan said.

Currently, the main gas suppliers to Turkey are Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.